Iraqi Franciscan Freed in Syria

Orontem region especially dangerous for Christians. Aleppo / Jerusalem (kath.net/ KNA) A week ago in the Syrian province of Idlib, a kidnapped Iraqi religious is free again. As the Franciscan Administration of the Holy Land in Jerusalem announced on Friday night, apparently police investigations led to the release of 41-year-old Iraqi.

The Franciscan Dhiya Aziz, a minister in Jacoubieh, was arrested last Saturday by an unknown armed group of fighters southwest of Aleppo and brought for questioning to the local emir. Since then, there has been no contact with him. According to information of the Order it was initially suspected that Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaeda affiliated rebel group, had participated in the kidnapping.

Born in Mosul, Aziz had first worked in Egypt and Jordan, from which he volunteered to go to Syriac Lattakieh and was then assigned to Jacoubieh. The region on the Orontes is considered particularly dangerous, since it has fallen under the control of al-Nusra Jabhat.

In June, a Catholic priest was also killed in an attack on a Franciscan monastery by rebels in the province of Idlib. The monastery was robbed. A friar also living at the place and sisters were unhurt. (C) 2015 Catholic News Agency KNA GmbH. All rights reserved. Link to kath.net... Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com AMDG